In this file 2010 photo, Narbonne’s Shailo Leafa (24) is high-fived during a time out as time dwindles with San Pedro trailing in a Marine League basketball game. Leafa was shot and killed Wednesday night.

HARBOR CITY >> A former Narbonne High School basketball standout was shot and killed Wednesday night in a Harbor City parking lot.

Shailo Leafa, 21, of Torrance, who played on the Fresno City College state championship team in 2012, was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Another male victim, whose name and age were not released, was in critical condition. A third person was not injured.

The three were in the parking lot of a strip mall at Western Avenue and 259th Street about 9:40 p.m. when a gunman approached them and fired numerous rounds from a handgun, Los Angeles police Lt. Eric Holyfield said. Police officers said a motive for the shooting is not known and did not have suspect or suspect vehicle information.

“No one saw anything,” Holyfield said.

The area is not known for random shootings, and it is unclear if it was gang-related, Holyfield said.

Leafa graduated in 2011 from Narbonne High, where the 6-foot-2-inch point guard, known for his confidence and big hairdo, led the varsity basketball team to the L.A. City Division II title his senior year.

“It’s not going to be a close game,” Leafa said before the division final game in March 2011. “We’re going to dominate. I’m just telling you straight up.”

After the team won its first city title in a decade, Leafa said with a grin, “I told you we were going to kill them. That’s exactly what we did. Word.”

He was named the Division II Player of the Year for the All-L.A. City Section in 2011, averaging 12.5 points and 3.7 assists.

Ryan Quinlan, Leafa’s varsity basketball coach, said Leafa was a great kid.

“I always enjoyed being around him. He had a great heart,” Quinlan said. “He was definitely loved on campus.”

Leafa, who played on the Fresno City team for one season, excelled on the court, Quinlan said. The Fresno City College squad defeated Yuba College in March 2012 to win the California Community College Athletic Association.

“He had so much faith in himself and a lot of confidence in his game, and he also had faith in his teammates,” he said. “I knew he was always going to put himself and his team in a good position to win.”

Quinlan said Leafa came from a loving, supportive family.

“His mom and dad never missed a game,” he said. “His younger brothers and sisters all came to the games. It was a big family affair.”

The strip center where the shooting occurred houses a hookah lounge, beauty salon, dental office, computer service shop and uniform shop. A florist and dental office sit across the street.

Employees at the nearby businesses said Thursday that the area, one block south of Pacific Coast Highway, is pretty quiet.

An employee at the Pine Tree Korean BBQ restaurant, who asked that her name not be used, heard gunshots ring out shortly before closing Wednesday night.

“At first, I didn’t believe it (was gunfire),” she said. “I didn’t think it was a real thing.”

But minutes later, she heard sirens and saw the flashing lights of an ambulance and police vehicles.

The employee, at the mention of the hookah lounge, said, “That’s the problem, the hookah lounge.” She didn’t elaborate on the problems.

It was not clear whether Leafa was walking out of the lounge when the shooting occurred, although, it is the only business in the center, aside from the restaurant, open that late.

Leafa’s friends and family members flooded Twitter on Thursday with posts of shock and sadness.

“Coolest, happiest guy I knew,” one friend said.

“‘But you’ll always be in my heart, with unconditional love,’” wrote a cousin of Leafa’s. “Love you, ShyGuy.”

Quinlan said he last spoke to Leafa at the end of his freshman year at Fresno City, when Leafa stopped by Narbonne to visit and play with the younger players. Quinlan said he didn’t know what his former player had been doing the past year or so or why he left Fresno City.

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